In Her Rain
by TezTra
Summary: No matter how well the rain would mask it, he was not going to see her cry. No tears would fall from her blind eyes.


**Hey there!**

**TezTra here, with a very long one-shot at Toko for you :)**

**I'll say it now, I feel I may have rushed the story in some parts, and maybe prolonged the writing more than needed at others. Still, I tried, and if you enjoy a nice long read, I'm sure you can bear with me XD**

**Disclaimer: The characters Toph and Zuko are the property of Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. See, if they belonged to me, you'd see more things like what you're about to read happening in the show. **

**Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>In Her Rain<strong>

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><p>Rain flooded the roads as well as the side walk. The people taking a little walk down to the city park were now rushing past the closed stores and empty alleyways, in haste to flee from the heavy downpour. One last boy hurried into his mother's arms before they both dashed round the corner of the street seeking shelter.<p>

The trees bordering the park on the other side of the lane were now drizzling wet, one could tell, by the raindrops dripping down the leaves as they drooped from their branch in misery and swayed with the wind lifelessly. Even under the trees' shade was not safe from the rain, nor were the half-rooved alleys intersecting with the main road. The whole avenue was deserted.

Not a single soul was in sight.

Not a single soul that is, besides someone's shadow stretching over the streets coming from the corner, drawing nearer and nearer, closer and closer to the faded yellow, dying light of the lone lamppost with every echoing step.

_There's nothing more depressing in the world than rain_, Toph decided glumly, as she emerged from a narrow side lane.

She dragged her bare feet along the puddles of the side walk, not bothering to avoid the pools of water as more droplets fell hard onto the ground, smashing its beady form into more miniature drops with a _splash_. Even the reverberating vibrations of the raindrops did not lighten the Earthbender's mood as she continued her path looking forlorn, acting like without a friend in the world. She walked against the wind, tugging onto her long drenched robe tighter over her light green dress, with a golden hem and an elaborate design of Moon Flowers.

_Plus, walking around in a rainstorm in a dress doubles the depression. Hoping mum and dad would freak and send out a huge search party is okay… but waiting for them to do it makes things ten times worse_, the blind woman thought bitterly. _I guess hiding in the Lower Ring was a mistake_.

"Need an umbrella?" a hoarse yet warm voice asked. The abrupt question tore Toph from the deep recesses of her mind.

"What –?" she spun around on her heels to face the person, all too quickly.

She stepped on an icy slate of flagstone and slipped clumsily. However, a rough hand grasped her upper arm before she could hit the cold concrete pavement, pulling her up effortlessly back onto her feet.

"Sorry I scared you," Zuko chuckled into her ear.

The woman gazed sightlessly at the man, feeling suddenly warm from his touch and being no longer poured on under the rain shade being held by his other hand. The umbrella was being positioned at an angle, just like the rain, which fell diagonally because of the grey blustery weather. His other hand was still clutching her arm tightly, as if he had seized her for no particular reason and was now refusing to free the woman. She was forced close to him under the umbrella, but she liked it.

"What are _you_ doing here?" she asked aloofly, her bitter tone a contrast to her hidden affection. She had not even noticed him approaching her because of the heavy rain, the raindrops beating in perfect harmony with his footfalls, allowing him to sneak up on her.

"I could ask you the same thing," Zuko replied stiffly, arching a brow at her coldness. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Taking a free shower," Toph said, attempting to be sarcastic and her witty self, only her comment came out wrong, making it almost seem like she was snapping at the scarred man.

"Oh really?" the Firebender laughed, disregarding his friend's attitude. "I'm here for an evening stroll," he stated, his efforts for a joke much more successful, even with no one around to laugh politely.

As he said so, Zuko pushed the Earthbender forward with his right hand still gripping her left arm, forcing her to walk alongside him as he practically hugged her close even with the spacious room under the small shelter they shared. The two benders strode along down the side walk, with the scarred Firebender guiding the young blind woman, as the storm hardened; the rain now chattering onto the ground loudly as well as the umbrella roof. Drops dribbled along the black trimmings until a bump or rough step caused them to trickle down onto the ground with the rest of the rainwater.

_What do you think you're doing? _Toph wanted to say, but his actions made her speechless and only a small "Huh?" escaped her numb lips.

More soft, husky laughter was let out of his. There was a comfortable silence between the two as they wandered around the puddles, careful not to splash mud and water everywhere.

"Careful," Zuko whispered gently, pulling Toph behind him so he was exposed to the road. A carriage being pulled by racing ostrich-horses trundled past wildly, flinging mud from the sides of the street into the air. Zuko raised his voice: "Hey! Watch it! There's a beautiful lady on street!"

But the carriage's inhabitants paid no heed to his accusing yells.

Toph blushed furiously at the comment but reacted as how she usually would none the less; she tried to pull away forcefully as she retaliated, "I can take care of myself, Zuko. Let me go. I'm going home. _Now_." She narrowed her cloudy green eyes in attempt of emphasizing her irritation, but the young man refused to let go as if his hand was surgically attached to her sleeve.

He only loosened his grip to satisfy the Earthbender but it still did not seem enough.

"What? No thank you for the Fire Lord, even after he drenched his best robes for you?" Zuko asked playfully, toning his voice to sound in disbelief. He smiled; flashing playful smile of his for the blind woman, then drew her in securely to his chest. "Something bothering you, Toph?" he asked.

"Oh, gee. What makes you think that?" the blind woman replied dryly, although panic gripped her entire being.

Zuko shrugged, playing along with the blind woman. "You tell me," the scarred man said.

"Well then, read what I am implying and leave me alone," she hissed, before she elbowed Zuko in the ribs.

With a yelp, the Firebender loosened his grip and Toph pulled her arm out of his grip, freeing herself. Discreetly sniffling, she heeded her intuition's warning of an incoming chance of vulnerability, of emotional weakness. She needed to get out of there fast, before the man inadvertently dealt anymore blows to her pathetic heart. In a strained attempt to stay in character, she flounced with a smirk and strutted out from under the scene and into the storm, her head held high and her nose in the air. She ignored the rain as it bit at her frozen face and ripped through her hair and clothes. She shivered fiercely as she stalked off.

She ignored as she felt Zuko's eyes boring into her back, staring after her as shook his head, unsure of what to make of her.

Toph scowled.

Zuko could be extremely infuriating at times, as Katara had always said when teasing the Firebender. But only just recently, Toph realised; she quite liked his hotheadedness. It somewhat fit with him.

Still, he was frustrating to deal with, especially when he was persistent to butt into her life when all she wanted was to shut people out. She hated that he had gone to the trouble to walk in the sky's shed tears at night to find her. She hated that he undoubtedly came from the Palace to where she was staying in Ba Sing Se, and her parents had most likely told him that she had run away from her party of escorts. Toph sighed.

She hated how she, in fact, did _not_ hate it.

The offending man had disappeared from the dreary street now, Toph noted. She continued on, trudging along the side walk she was on, suddenly appreciating the umbrella and more so its owner. She regretted that the encounter had not ended on a pleasant note, but she could not find the heart to 'see' Zuko again and have her feelings swallowed and spat back at her with no warning.

Something pricked at the corner of her eyes, a strange sensation behind her useless orbs tingling in subtle efforts to escape.

Perhaps it would have been better if she had not left the house, in the hope to be chased after by a man who more than likely did not return her feelings. Since after the war had ended, she had always seen Zuko as a brother, and he seemed to have gladly returned said platonic feelings. Was it cliché that one day, out of the blue, she decided she no longer loved him as a friend, but as something more on a romantic plane?

The Earthbender's cold ears shifted back as she listened to the rushing water gush along the gutter and gurgle into a drain down to the water works beneath her numbing feet. She could hear the loud groan of the sewers below.

Toph aimlessly wandered around lifeless Ba Sing Se alone again for several more minutes, still refusing to return to the guaranteed comfort of the luxurious family home, calling for her from the other side of the city, where she 'belonged'. Something now tugged at the seams of her mind, allowing some thoughts to unravel and escape through the once-patched holes she had tried to stitch up. Somehow, Toph felt she could not leave Zuko to himself after such an awkward meeting and on all of wretched nights too. Her conscience was begging her to go back and mend things between them. After all, she would rather live the rest of her years with Zuko as only a friend than not one at all.

There.

There it was again; that nameless tear-triggering emotion that welled in her chest, the same one she was always shoving out of her heart in denial.

No. Not just yet.

The raven paused as her empty gaze drifted to behind her. The place seemed more dark and sinister than ever, even without her sense of sight. However, the rain did offer a very clear view of the surrounding world, as droplets bounced off shapes, leaving a touch of ripples to be heard and felt by her and no one else. She could define many hollow blocks with roofs of eaves as well as a solid barricade standing high from the stone ground, the two different degrees of earth slightly melding into one another. They were the buildings and the great walls a little further beyond, she could tell.

She had had the whole city mapped out in her head, and she had familiarised herself with it until she knew every twist and turn of the labyrinth like the geographical lines of Zuko's flawlessly chiselled features –

Her bones precipitously felt as cold as death itself. She could feel a thin blanket of wintery fog, which had maybe encompassed the city just now to accompany the rainstorm. Just as the cloudy collection of water droplets plagued Ba Sing Se, confusion plagued her head and hazed her senses, hindering any rightful judgements she wanted – needed – to make at the moment.

Nonetheless, no body screaming for rest or no mind filled with turmoil could stop Toph as she marched down the one or two blocks she was surprised she had covered in the time she had zoned out, busy dancing along the lines of sanity and insanity.

"Zuko!" she found herself yelling. "Zuko!"

What a fool she was feeling like at the moment.

Toph brushed the dark hair plastering her face even if it was completely unnecessary. The rain seemed to blind her more than help her in her quest to pursue redemption. The sixteen-year-old took lengthy strides through the thick mixtures of water and dirt along the flatly paved street, not caring as it stained her dress even more – she was sure her parents would have scolded her more than usual had they been there, and perhaps Uncle Iroh would have gone on to say something 'wise' and incomprehensible.

_What would Zuko think of me?_ She wondered.

A sob hitched itself in her coarse throat.

She did not need the gift of sight to feel that the clouds overhead were becoming darker, threatening to pour more rain on her alone for being an idiot. Her quick pace broke out into a run. The bitter cold wind howling at her back urged her to hurry even more. She threw off the doused robe off her shoulders, having been nothing but deadweight to her, and held out a hand to shield her paling face. Down the deserted streets she bounded, around the quiet block she steered, and across the street she dashed.

Toph knew she had to reach the Firebender before she could pour out her heart's contents, before she could let the tears be spilt. Zuko was going to see her happy; he was going to see a close friend, and she wanted to give him no doubts about their treasured friendship. No, he was not going to see her break, as it would only break him.

No matter how well the rain would mask it, he was not going to see her cry. No tears would fall from her blind eyes.

Blinking back her tears, half of her wanted to seek out some refuge, to find some place to weep her eyes out, away from prying persons. But now, every fibre in her body was fuelled by willpower alone, and she was going to 'see' it through, no matter if the restrained rain that irritated her eye sockets was going to stream a river within the next few seconds.

Earthbending herself to Zuko would be a last resort, if thick came to thin. And speaking of dire situations, Toph could not run from the dead-end fact that she had no idea where she was, and where she was going.

Definitely not towards Zuko, at this rate.

She growled under her breath, finding herself leaving the cluttered clusters of buildings after endless running and now climbing up a grassy slope, the blades tickling her soles. It was far too late to be night anymore now, and running in the torrential rain up a hill was not an ideal activity. Still, there was the spring of live grass beneath her and the vast swish of the early morning wind awakened her muscles in a burst of energy to make it up to the top.

Her soul came out from the abyss she had internally bended, 'seeing' a familiar figure standing beside a cherry tree, with an umbrella stowed in hand.

"Zuko!"

Aforementioned man turned, and the sunshade fell to the ground when he was tackled around his midriff. Toph could feel his knees buckle under the extra weight, and he crumpled to the ground in a heap, tangled in the mess with her.

It was then, that tears rushed down her cheeks, ironically merging with the raindrops.

He was here, and she was with him. That was all she wanted, all she really needed. His trust, his complete faith, it was enough to last her a hundred lifetimes. Even if she would never have his love he would always, in a sense, still be hers and hers alone; maybe someday he would come around, be ready and ripe for the taking and for the keep.

A hand softly placed itself on the side of her neck, before it trailed upwards to cup her cheek in its protecting palm. A thumb slid up to the corner of her blind eye, wiping away the warm drops that could somehow still be discerned and told apart. The other hand snaked its way under her arm, and around her waist, drawing her into an embrace.

Toph sank into it gratefully, relishing the generously given shelter as she wept, clutching onto Zuko like he was a lifeline.

"Come on, really? _My_ little Toph?" Zuko murmured. "What could be so bad, hm?"

"I'm sorry I left," she sobbed, shuddering as the prince started to stroke her hair, icy fingers combing through the drenched locks, massaging her scalp numb with loss of feeling and thought. "Please don't leave _me_."

His lips pressed themselves on her temple. "When you love someone, you only leave them in death, and even then you still haven't truly walked out of their life."

The echoing concision that was the succession of fragile beads shattering into puddles onto stone seemed to halt, like time had been kind enough to pause and allow Toph a moment of silence to replay Zuko's words. When the icy droplets resumed their monotonous rhythm of drip-drop, Toph faced the man, eyes still teary and sore.

"What?"

He released a nervous laugh. "I understand if you only think of me as a friend, Toph."

"No!" the Earthbender suddenly cried, pulling back from his arms. "I love you, you hot-headed idiot! _I_ should be the one saying that to _you_!"

Toph tried her best to picture what kind of expression Zuko's perfect face would be conveying at that instance. Would he be surprised at her outburst, just as shocked as she had been about his own confession?

Oh how she recognised her loathing of love just about now, the cruel intangible load of bull that added salt to the wound when professed, unrequited then rejected. She hated that she had fallen victim to the damned emotion, enticed with the fluffy imaginations of having someone to hold at night, to share the rest of eternity in each other's lovey-doviness. Love had messed with both her and Zuko's heads, and they had just paid the hefty price, the cost of inner pain love taxed due to misunderstanding. Love always ended up claiming all in its twisted ways, and still yet, in its splendour reigned hearts with vigour and victory.

"How long?" a barely audible whisper rolled off her gently, like the slowing rain.

"I don't know," Toph replied, stifling another wave of tears threatening to attack. "You?"

"I don't know either," Zuko admitted, grinning sheepishly. "One day I just woke up and decided that I loved you."

"We're both idiots, aren't we?"

Zuko chuckled huskily, looking up towards the sky as it brightened a few notches, with the sun coming out of hiding behind the horizon. He hauled the younger bender to her feet, swivelling her on her heels so her back touched the charcoal winding body of the tree, its pink petals also caught in the lightening drizzle. The great blossom bloom was still magnificent in all of its flourishing grace of morning cherry, just like the lady before him. He leaned on his side against the dark bark, tracing the line of his woman's jaw.

"Idiots in love, Toph," he corrected, wiping away non-existent tears he feared would make its entrance into the world any minute.

"And I can't believe I cried."

"Me neither."

A hollow groan rang out across the Lower Ring as a punch was exchanged, in a display of intimacy.

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><p><strong>I tried.<br>**

**Reviews and feedback will be loved. Constructive criticism more so ;)**

**Happy Days!**

**TezTra**


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